Glossary

Every CCG needs a glossary of terms, and Scrolls is no different. Some of the terms listed below will be universal for all CCGs, whilst some will be unique to Scrolls.

Glossary of Terms:

Aggro : Aggro refers to a type of deck that focuses on winning the game as fast as possible. Those decks usually feature a broad selection of aggressive creatures and damage spells.

Bomb : A card that has a large impact on the game, usually deciding the outcome of the game. These are usually powerful, expensive creatures or spells.

Bouncing a card : Bouncing refers to a spell or ability removing a unit from the battlefield and returning it to its owner’s hand.

Cantrip : A very inexpensive scroll (usually 0-2 Mana) that gives a minor benefit and lets you draw a scroll.

Card Advantage : Aside from Resources, the number of cards you have in your hand is the other commonly tracked statistic. Scrolls that give you "card advantage" are those that remove, kill or discard two of your opponents cards at the cost of only one of your scrolls. Drawing is another form of card advantage; a scroll that draws you another scroll has good card advantage.

CCG : Collectible Card Game. TCG : Trading Card Game.

Combo : This can refer to two or more scrolls that do something together. Sometimes it is used as a synonym for “synergy”, but it commonly refers to a certain, game-changing combination of scrolls. It may also refer to deck types that are built around combos.

Constructed : This is a game modes where you play with a deck you have constructed, contrary to modes such as Judgement.

Control : This is a deck archetype which centers more around taking control of the game, preventing the other player from doing what they want. These types of decks usually use their control effects to stall the game until they can finish with powerful late-game scrolls or combos.

Counter Deck : A deck constructed to counter a specific deck. These decks often utilise scrolls or mechanics which are usually not that viable, but are especially effective against the deck they mean to counter.

Draft : Drafting is a format of Limited. A game style where you do not have a constructed deck but make one out of cards you get during the tournament. Drafting is when you have people sit around a table. You open a pack, choose 1 card, then pass the pack to the next player. This goes on until the pack is finished. You do this with however many packs you play with. You then create a deck out of the cards you picked. There is currently no drafting in Scrolls, but the Judgement mode is very similar, as you pick scrolls to build your deck right before you play.

Fetch : When you play a scroll or activate an ability that allows you to sift through your deck to retrieve a specific scroll. In Scrolls, this is currently limited to fetching a random scroll of a specific scroll type (such as “creature”).

French Vanilla : A creature or structure with no abilities except for traits (like ranged attack or relentless).

Limited : This is a game style where you play with cards from packs supplied during a tournament. Types of Limited formats are Draft and Sealed. The closest implementation of the limited game style in Scrolls at the moment is Judgement.

Mana Curve / Resource Curve : This is the analysis of your deck with regards to the casting cost of your scrolls. For example, you want some low casting cost cards so you can play scrolls early game. But you do not want too many as these become less important and useful later on. On the other hand, you don’t want to have too many high-cost scrolls, as they are useless to you until you are able to play them, and too many of them in your deck might leave you unable to act in the first.

Meta Game : This is knowing what decks are the most popular and are strongest at the moment. Knowing the Meta Game helps a lot. You are able to anticipate what the other player’s deck can do.

Mid-Range : This is a type of deck that features aspects of both Aggro and Control decks in order to be effective at all stages of the game.

Mana Sink / Resource sink: Something you can spend your resources on in case you have some left over after playing your scrolls.

Mulligan : This refers to discarding your hand and drawing a new one. In Scrolls, this currently can only happen once per game, with your starting hand.

Phase : Some games have different phases per turn. You can only do certain things during certain phases. In Scrolls, this is simplified to three phases: drawing a scroll, reducing countdown and restoring your resources at the start of the turn, the main phase where you can play scrolls, move units etc., and the combat phase at the end of the turn where your units attack.

Play-Set : This refers to multiple copies of the same scroll, as many as are allowed in one deck at the same time. In Scrolls, having a playset of Sister of the Fox would mean that you have 3 copies of the Sister of the Fox. In Judgement, you can have more than 3 copies of the same scroll in your deck.

Ramp(ing) : Permanently increasing your resources, aside from sacrificing a scroll. For example, playing Imperial Resources increases your Order resources by 1.
Resources : This is what you use in order to play scroll. There are currently 5 types of resources: Growth, Order, Energy and Decay are used for playing scrolls of that specific faction, whereas Wild resources can be used to play scrolls from all factions.

Resource Advantage : This has multiple meanings. First you can gain an advantage when you get rid of an opponent’s scroll with a cost higher than the cost of the scroll you used to get rid of it. If they play a 10 resource scroll, but it costs you 3 resources to negate it, you gained a +7 resource advantage for that turn. The other meaning is equal to resource ramping - permanently increasing your resources until the end of the game.

Staples : A scroll that is extremely effective and is expected to be played in all decks of the same faction / deck style. Having a playset of staple scrolls gives a deck a very solid framework.

Synergy : Scrolls that go well together and should be used together as much as possible are referred to as having synergy. Game-changing synergy effects are usually referred to as a combo.

Tempo : Like most games, CCGs will typically have one player "driving" the interactions and one player "reacting" to those actions. Tempo is an extremely important advantage and usually defaults to whoever goes first. Creating a disparity between the rate at which you are casting scrolls with increased quality and your opponent's ability to do the same. Whoever is in control of the Tempo of the match controls the game.

Top Deck : This is when you draw a scroll and it is something that you can use right away. If your hand is empty at the end of your turn, you will have to rely on top-decking a useful scroll next turn.

Utility : Scrolls that have value in multiple situations and hence are good in a deck. The more utility the scrolls in your deck have, the more flexible your deck is to do well in unexpected situations.

Vanilla : A unit with no rules text. A Kinfolk Brave is one example of a vanilla creature

(Board-) Wipe: Destroying all creatures (of one player) at the same time.